Apparatus for the disposal of tailings.



J. VAN N. BURR.-

PPARATUS FOR-THE DISPOSAL OP TAILINGS.. APPLIOATION FILED 111111121, 1915s.

' Patented-July 14, 1914 OHN VAN NOSTR/AND BORR, F DENVER, COLORADO.

APPARATUS FR '2HE DISPOSAL 0F TAILINGS.

mossos.

Specification of LettersPatent. I

l Patentedeluly it, Mild,

Applicatie md June 21, i913. senin No. 775,135.

T 0 all lwhom if may concern Be it'liiiovvn that I, Joint VAN Nostra-AND Donn, a eitizen of the` United States, residing in Derive'r,.in the county of Denver and i State (if lOIOradQ,vv have*y invented certain lconsisting of pulverzed'rock .and the like from which the values have been extracted, are discharged from the mill ina solid condition by trams or belt conveyers, or are carried out suspendedin a stream of water. When dry orv solid they are usually trammed from the plant and dumped thus making a dump with a flat surface, or are carried up an incline by belt `conveyors and deposited on a dump ot'. increasing` height. l lli/*hen water is employed to convey the tailings from the mill, they are usually led to a river or running stream, when such is available and not prohibited; butI where a running stream cannot' for any reason be used and it is necessary to confine the dump on certain ground, it has been the practice. to construct dams in various Ways at the. foot of slopes 0n the available ground and to sluice 'the `tailings downvr the slopes into the dams, where they settle and the surplus water is drawn oli'. This method of procedure requires the employment oi considerable labor.` There is `szjreat waste of, water. by evapora-v tion and otherwise, which mie-ht advantageously be used in the mill and there is .dan- `rer ot' damage by the breaking of the dams.

My invention relates to the disposal of tailings, conveyed in suspension in Water from the mill, and it consists yin first eX- traeting asniuehwater as possible, to be `re turned to the mill tor reuse it desired, and

v then distributing the thickened tailings .in

such manner as to form a dump, with its upper surface being extended vout over the slope essentially horizontally, and the deseending` pulp lmildine up the slopimer surface similar to a dry dump. ln this way the water will separate from the solid material, soaking' into the dump or cvaporatingr` and a pile or dump may be toi-mcd without an excessive flow ot water, requiring.,r the construction ot' dams. 1

The apparatus which I preferably employ gomprises a decauter or thickener, which extraetsseme of the water from.`- the tailings, and a distributor, whichis connected with the thickener and delivers the4 thickened tailings to the dump. The thickencr may be of any approved pattern, many apparatuses ot' this kind being well known to tluise skilled in the art of treating ore pulp tor a similar purpose. The distributor is so constructed that it will deliver the thickened but still tluidtailings inl small streams or jets, eontim'iously or intermittently as dc- 'sire-ul. over` an extended surface from the edge of the dump. so that as it flows down the water will separate trom the solids by infiltration and evaporation. l have also found that the introduction of a storage vat ior the thickened pulp, after the lhickcner, allows an accumulation ot thick pulp For a given period, which may be rapidly dischare'ed into the distributor at intervals, and thus enable the morerapid flow otf thick uur tcrial to run down the slope. rlhe distributcris so mounted and supported that` it may he moved from time. to time as the dump is extended, and linetcrahly it is made in ser tions. so that il necessary one section may reina in idle to allow the surface ot' the dump to settle and dry while another is in operation. lVhile perforated laundersl or 'perforated stationary pipes can lie-used for distributing' the pulp, they require a heavy inclination with thick pulp, and l have lound that when the distributer eon'ipriscs an almost horizontally arranged perforated pipe, which is rotated during'v discharge, better results are obtained as the, perforations are in this way kept t'ree and the discharge is more' uniform. The pipe connections 'are provided with suitable valves andthe density oi" the discharge. may be regulated to carry the thickened tailings to a greater or less distance down the incline of the dump, as may be desired.

ln the accompanying drawings l have shown suitable amiaratus for carrying out my invention.

liirjure l is a perspective View o li au ore milling-plant, showing` the combined thickener, storage tank and distributor, the lattcr beine; supported at the top of a slope where the dump is to be formed. Fig, 2 is a-detail view illustrating how the layers of the dump arc succcssircly produced.

A mill indicated at .i and this delivers the tailings in water by a conveyer li to a l) li loo thickness C, where water is extracted and re- 'thickener or dewate-rer by a pipe E to storage tank J, and thence by pipe E to the dis-v tributing apparatus. .This is suitably constructed to deliver the tailings in relatively small streams or jets to the. dump. Preferably the distributer is constructed as follows: lt is divided into tivo or more sections in order that one section may he discharging While another is idle, and each section preferably consists of an approximately' horizontally arranged perforated pipe F supported. on weighted skids G. It will be noted that the even distribution of the pulp can be further regulated' by plugging up a portion of the perforatiens 'in the pipe from time to time, thus changing the flow over any given portion'of the dum'p. Each pipe section is arranged to rotate about a horizontal axis in bearings g on said skids. Each pipe Fis connected to a branch c from the pipe E, and each branch is provided With'a valve c. A motor H of any suitable kind, .as an electric motor, is belted to each pipe section for the purpose of rotating it.

When the distributer is supported at the top of a slope in the manner shown in Fig. 1,

.the -tailings are first conveyed from the mill to the tliickener, the extracted Water being returned to the mill for iei1se,ivliile the y thickened pulp is conveyed by the pipe E to storage tank J and then by pipe-E .and

branches e to the pipesF through the perfo rations of which they pass and are delivered to the dump. During the operation the pipes ai'e rotated by the motors in order to lkeep the perforations clear and to' pi'o1note the [low of pulp from the receiving ends to the opposite ends thereof and 4from time to time the skids and motors are moved forward to cause the deposit of successive layers on the dump in the manner illustratediii Fig. 2. In this way much of the water from the mill is recovered andV can be returned for reuse and the tailings freed from excess of water are deposited at vany desired distance from the mill without the construction of dams or the contamination of streams.

The method herein described is not claimed l herein but claims thereto are made in my application for Patent' No. 719,464, filed I' Sept. v 9, 1912. x

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a thickener to' which the WetA tailings pass from a mill and which partially dewaters the tailings,` means for conducting back to the mill the extracted Water for re-use, and a distributer Which receives the vthickened tailings from the thick?- ener and deliverslthemto a dump.

2. The combination of a thickener to which the Wet tailings pass from a mill and which partially dewaters the tailings, means for condutting back to the mill the extracted Water for re-use, and a distributer which receives the thickened tailings vfrom thethick-H ener, consisting of a perforated pipe arranged approximately horizontally and connected with the thickener, and means for rotating said perforated pipe.

l3. The combination of a thickener receiving ,Wet tailings from a mill and which partially de'Waters said tailings, means for sav-'1 'ing the water extracted from the tailings, a perforated pipe, arranged approximately horizontally and which receives tailings from the thickeiier, means for rotating-the pipe, and eounterbalanced supports for the pipe adapted to hold the latterat the edge of a dump. v v y 4,An apparatus for the disposal of tailings, comprising a thickener for partially deivatering them, a vessel adapted to store the thickened tailings and to'discharge the same at suitable intervals, and means for distributing the thickened .tailings along the edge of a dump. i

5. An apparatus for ings,

the disposal' of taih comprising a-thickener for partially;-`

deivatering the tailings, a vessel 'for storing L the thickened tailings and for discharging them at suitable intervals, perforated pipes ,v

and means for rotating said pipeslto4l dis` tribute -the thickened tailings along the edge of n a dump.

In testimony whereof, I have .hereunto subscribed my name.

PHIL. M. MCHUGH, H. 7. SrioER. 

